Estate homes eyed for east Boca

By Dale M. King
CITY EDITOR

When Kolter Communities of Boca Raton proposed putting a 186-unit residential complex on the former Executive Golf Course in the Hidden Valley section of Boca Raton, a torrent of neighborhood opposition erupted.

That proposal – a combination of single and multi-family homes -- was in the conduit for municipal approval when the real estate market began to crumble.  Kolter yanked the project, citing the soft sales climate and not the foes.

Now, several years later, another developer is eyeing the former golf course as the site of what he calls “a unique” complex, one that will offer three-quarter acre lots for estate homes.

“It’s the only place I know east of I-95 in Boca Raton that you can find this,” said developer James Knight.

On its way to the Planning & Zoning Board for future consideration is East Banyan Estates.  In the plan filed in City Hall, Knight proposes to create 27 single-family house lots on the 550-acre parcel that will abut a 20-acre lake.  Knight told the Boca Raton News that a seven-acre lake already exists on the property. He will expand it to 20, and his plans show a fishing pier, dock and pavilions at the edge of the lake.

Only Lots

Knight said he will just be carving out lots on the property. That will give land buyers the opportunity to hire a builder to construct custom homes on the land.

Hidden Valley residents who banded together and loudly protested the Kolter proposal are watching East Banyan Estates with interest – and, in some cases, growing skepticism.

Sam LoPiccolo, one of the leaders of the opposition group, sent Knight a letter saying, “I want to formally protest this project for many reasons. Here are a few. The project has an eight-foot walkway that will be 10 feet from our property line. Also, there is a two-lane road 30 feet from the property line with streetlights shining into our back yards.”

“Also,” LoPiccolo said, “they are requesting up to a 56 percent variance on lot sizes which is a monumental request in itself. Also, the lot elevations that they propose would be higher than our lots, meaning when we get our torrential rains, the water would run off into our yards.”

Many Issues

“There are many, many, many issues with this property and this potential project. What I listed were just several common sense issues,” said LoPiccolo’s letter.

Knight, however, said his proposal will not present the drawbacks of the other project.  It will not be dense; on the contrary, all the lots will be a quarter-acre or larger, he said. Traffic and drainage, two major concerns about the Kolter proposal, will not be replicated at East Banyan Estates.

The developer said he anticipates homes on the property will be an average of about 7,000 square feet, with 4,000 to 5,000 square foot garages. 

“There will not be another opportunity like this coming along,” Knight said of the large lots in east Boca.  He said he has not yet had meetings with neighbors – as Kolter did – but he will when the project progresses.  The developer said he has only presented his outline to the Planning Advisory Committee.

Jeff Bowser, another of the Kolter plan foes, said he doesn’t like the plan because it will “sandwich” his home between two roads. “We will have a two-land road in our backyards,” he told the Boca Raton News.

He said there will be opposition, though he admitted, “It night not be 100 percent united like before.”

Dale M. King can be reached at 561-549-0832 or at dking@bocanews.com